BLIP Garners Coverage in ABA Journal and Associations Now

3/2/2015
The Brooklyn Law Incubator and Policy Clinic (BLIP) recently received coverage for providing pro bono legal assistance to small businesses, defending them against patent trolls. “Patent trolls are looking for the easy buck, and they won’t get that from a small business that has free legal advice,” Professor Askin said.
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Brooklyn Law School Takes BLIP Around the World

12/23/2014

The pioneering Brooklyn Law Incubator and Policy Clinic (BLIP), which represents Internet, new media, communications and other tech entrepreneurs and innovators on both business and policy advocacy, is involved in a growing number of initiatives in the U.S. and abroad to advance this complex and rapidly changing field.

Professor Jonathan Askin, a leading voice on technology law and policy, commented to Brooklyn Daily on the ongoing efforts of a New Mexico woman to extract millions of dollars from the Brooklyn Nets for the rights to the domain name Nets.com. Citing impending marketplace shifts, Professor Askin declared that "[d]omain squatters won't be running these excessive extortion rackets anymore."

Professor Jonathan Askin told The Huffington Post that domain theft victims have very little legal recourse because most states don’t recognize domain names as property. “It’s a serious problem,” he explained.

Brooklyn Law School’s BLIP Clinic and Prof. Jonathan Askin: Training a New Generation of Lawyers to Represent Tech, Internet, and New Media Companies

9/26/2014

Professor Jonathan Askin’s six-year-old Brooklyn Law Incubator & Policy (BLIP) Clinic is tackling some of the most critical and timely issues in technology — detailed in a recent article in The Brooklyn Paper.

Professor Jonathan Askin and BLIP Client Featured on BK Live

8/21/2014

Professor Jonathan Askin, whose Brooklyn Law Incubator & Policy (BLIP) Clinic functions like a technology-oriented law firm for local startup companies, appeared on public affairs television program BK Live with the creators of the app Push for Pizza, a recent client of the BLIP Clinic.

BLIP Clinic Students Defeat Patent Troll

Professor Jonathan Askin Comments on New Frontiers for 3D-Printed Fashion in Mashable Article

3/3/2014

If 3D-printed bracelets and rings are already well within consumers' budgets, how far behind are items like high heels and tank tops? A new Mashable article explores just that, drawing on Professor Jonathan Askin’s legal expertise to illustrate 3D printing’s ramifications for fashion.

Professor Jonathan Askin on Narrowing Gap Between U.S./European Education in National Law Journal Op-Ed

1/13/2014
In an op-ed for the National Law Journal, Professor Jonathan Askin writes that Europe lags behind the United States in two seemingly unrelated categories: experiential legal education; and, fostering and sustaining new entrepreneurial ventures. What is less well recognized is that these two concepts are interconnected, he notes, and that the gap between the United States and Europe in each is narrowing quickly: “As we move into the 21st century, Europe may leapfrog the United States in both its ability to nurture startups and its ability to train its startup lawyers.”
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Why not train this next generation of lawyers to think like the next generation of entrepreneurs? Such is the question behind Professor Jonathan Askin’s new guest post for VentureBeat. He reflects on the folly of policy advocates masquerading as “full-blown tech lawyers” – an identity he says he also assumed as a young lawyer. The lessons learned would shape his resolve to ensure that the next generation of tech lawyers be well-equipped to provide meaningful counsel, he writes.

6/25/2013
Professor Jonathan Askin spoke to ECommerce Times about a newly introduced bill that aims to reform the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). Inspired by the prosecution and subsequent suicide of Internet activist Aaron Swartz early this year, the bill's authors are seeking to impose more requirements for prosecuting violators of the Act. Support for the bill is strong within the Internet community, but Professor Askin, an expert in tech law, is skeptical about its passage.
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New Learning Times Interviews Professor Jonathan Askin about BLIP

6/4/2013
Professor Jonathan Askin was recently interviewed by New Learning Times about the Brooklyn Law Incubator & Policy (BLIP) Clinic and its role in online and digital rights advocacy. Regarding the "hacker ethos" he hopes to instill in the next generation of Internet and tech lawyers, he explains that "[every] revolution requires those trained in law to frame the political, legal, social, and business rules and structures."
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1/24/2013
Professor Jonathan Askin recently commented on Verizon's argument that the Federal Communications Commission's Open Internet rules infringe on the company's First Amendment rights to control "transmission of speech" on its network. This argument is contradictory and risky, and could potentially subject the company to issues relating to copyright infringement, explained Professor Askin.
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Professor Jonathan Askin on the E.U.’s Google Privacy Concerns

10/17/2012
Professor Jonathan Askin spoke to E-Commerce Times about the European Union requests for Google to modify its global privacy policy. Professor Askin explained how these changes would help users better understand what types of data Google and its affiliates are collecting.
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9/17/2012
Professor Jonathan Askin moderated the opening panel at this year’s Entertainment & Technology Law Conference, which explored issues concerning the intersection of entertainment, technology, and law. The panel, “Comparing International Anti-Piracy Strategies,” covered topics such as debunking myths about consumer responses to digital content and anti-piracy policy strategies.
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Brooklyn Law School Hosts Legal Hackers Meetup

9/17/2012

Brooklyn Law School hosted the second Legal Hackers Meetup, a forum for members of the legal and tech communities to discuss mobile privacy. The Meetup was created by BLS alumni, Phil Weis ’12 and Warren Allen ’12, and current BLS student, Alexander Goldman ’13. The gathering featured mobile privacy experts from major websites, including Docracy, Etsy, and Meetup.com. Professor Jonathan Askin, director of the Brooklyn Law Incubator & Policy (BLIP) Clinic, moderated the discussion.

Professor Jonathan Askin provided legal advice for entrepreneurs in a recent article in Inverstor’s Business Daily. Many attorneys recommend that their clients think slowly and carefully about meeting legal standards and protecting their intellectual property, but Professor Askin encourages entrepreneurs to take risks.

Professor Jonathan Askin Comments on Ad-Free Social Media

8/15/2012

Professor Jonathan Askin spoke to Tech News World about a new campaign being launched that aims to create ad-free competitors to social networking sites. The project, started by App.net, hopes to create similar websites with registration fees in place of advertising.

Professor Jonathan Askin on FTC’s Allegations against Facebook

8/15/2012

Professor Jonathan Askin recently commented on the Federal Trade Commission’s new allegations that Facebook charged app developers for services it never provided. The FTC report shows that the social networking giant received $95,000 to give apps a “Facebook stamp of approval,” despite never preforming the proper tests.

Professor Jonathan Askin on Facebook and the First Amendment

8/10/2012
Professor Jonathan Askin spoke to Tech News World about an amicus brief filed by Facebook, arguing that clicking the “Like” button on its site is speech protected under the First Amendment. The brief was filed about a case in which a Virginia deputy sheriff was fired after “liking” his boss’ rival campaign.
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8/10/2012
Professor Jonathan Askin spoke to Law360 about the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) decision to fine Google $23 million for violating a commitment they made to protect user privacy by placing tracking cookies on Safari browsers. Experts explain the large penalty will put pressure on other companies to comply with FTC privacy orders.

Professor Jonathan Askin Comments on Apple’s Antitrust Lawsuit

7/24/2012

Professor Jonathan Askin spoke to Tech News World about a suit filed by the Department of Justice against Apple and six other e-book publishers for antitrust violations. If the case is settled, retailers would set their own prices for e-books, while publishers would be banned from discussing pricing with competitors for five years.

5/7/2012
In a recent article in the Huffington Post, Professor Jonathan Askin commented on the ongoing controversy surrounding the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA). “Consumers use the Internet to get access directly to content. They don't necessarily need the cable network or newspaper to do it,” he said.
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Professor Jonathan Askin Speaks about Traditional Media vs. New Media in Political Campaigns

5/7/2012
As the number of social media users continues to skyrocket, politicians preparing for the 2012 elections are exploring new forms of media to share their messages. Professor Jonathan Askin explained to the Huffington Post that local media strategies in particular will be significant to elections on every level of government.
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Professor Jonathan Askin Featured on BronxNet’s “Today's Verdict” Program

5/7/2012
Professor Jonathan Askin was a recent featured guest on the “Today’s Verdict” program on BronxNet. He discussed the Brooklyn Law Incubator & Policy (BLIP) Clinic, which provides legal assistance to emerging tech, Internet, and new media companies.
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Professor Jonathan Askin spoke at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) annual Frames convention on media and entertainment. His panel, "GEC Self-Regulation: Flight Path, Learning and Way Forward," discussed resolutions for content self-regulation on general entertainment channels.

Professor Jonathan Askin and BLIP Clinic Profiled in Forbes

2/6/2012

The Brooklyn Legal Incubator & Policy (BLIP) Clinic and its founder, Professor Jonathan Askin, were profiled by Forbes about the important relationship between young lawyers and the Internet start-up community.

11/1/2011
In an op-ed for the Huffington Post, Professor Jonathan Askin defends the fluid and catch-all message of the Occupy Wall Street movement, comparing it to the modern format of digital startups. He explains the importance of "pivoting," where startup companies must reinvent themselves quickly and efficiently to satisfy the needs of consumers. Similarly, he argues that Occupy Wall Street is "like an online platform built for public discourse, [where] the content of the forum is not as important as building the functional platform... The content and substantive issues are transitory, but the platform and process reform issues are sustainable."
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In an op-ed for the Huffington Post, Professor Jonathan Askin discusses how the "Occupy Wall Street" protests spreading across the nation is an accurate reflection of the digital age. He argues that the generation of young people who have grown up crowd-sourcing information and creating alternate universes online are now taking those tools to reshape broken systems in real life.

In a recent article, the Christian Science Monitor examines how social media became a driving force for the growth and spread of "Occupy Wall Street" demonstrations. Individuals and organizations on both sides of the dispute--from protesters and their supporters to political strategists and public safety officials--are paying close attention to the onslaught of digital information. Professor Jonathan Askin argues however that making sense of the raw data is much more complicated. He explains the predicament to the Christian Science Monitor: "Everyone, even each protester, is a real-time microblogger or photojournalist. The problem now is in filtering, curating, dissecting and synthesizing meaningful media content from the endless flood of isolated data. We have the tools to create, upload, and disseminate the need information for informed public discourse, he adds, “but we still lack the curation tools needed to make sense of the dramatic changes occurring through these new social protest movements.”

Professor Jonathan Askin on AT&T/T-Mobile Merger

9/29/2011
With the forthcoming merger of telecom giants AT&T and T-Mobile, Dish Network Corp. has been pressing the Federal Communications Commission to investigate whether the buyout would create threats to competition. Professor Jonathan Askin commented that it is rare for the FCC to bring such cases to a hearing. "It can be a very long and drawn out process, and it preculdes any further public input."
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In ABC News' coverage of President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign, several experts are evaluating his progress to date compared to this point in 2007. Among the experts, Professor Jonathan Askin commented on the new role of technology and social networking. "It’s harnessing tools like 4-Square and Places, or tied into Google maps," he explained, "so people know and can conveniently access real moments of campaign activity – events, calls, phone banks – in real time and real places."

As Republican presidential hopefuls take more and more advantage of social media, President Obama's Twitter account has been posting messages signed "-BO" that are personally written by the president, as opposed to staffers. Professor Jonathan Askin commented on the impact of these personal tweets to the Christian Science Monitor. "Politicians are under pressure to reassure followers about who is actually behind social media messages, and followers are getting more adept at sniffing out when a public figure is using social media consultants to post and tweet on his or her behalf," he explained. "Many of us are looking for a genuineness that hired guns can't provide."

Professor Jonathan Askin Speaks at the Free Press National Conference for Media Reform

4/13/2011

Professor Jonathan Askin was one of several expert panelists at the Free Press National Conference for Media Reform, which debated how much influence the telecom industry now has over the Federal Communications Commission. On the issue of Congress also affecting the FCC's problems, Professor Askin commented, "At the top, it's almost impossible to get an independent champion at the FCC when Congress is so heavily influenced by the industry."

Professor Jonathan Askin Presents at National Conference for Media Reform

4/9/2011

Professor Jonathan Askin was one of five panelists at the National Conference for Media Reform in Boston. The conference gathered media and technology law experts to discuss the source of the Federal Communications Committee's decision-making problems and how it can stick to beneficial policies without yielding to politics.

Professor Jonathan Askin on the AT&T/T-Mobile Merger in the Huffington Post

3/22/2011

While many argue that the merger of cell phone giants AT&T and T-Mobile will give consumers even fewer choices and less bargaining power, some experts believe the move may give regulators the chance to finally create stricter policies in the telecom industry. “Competition in the wireless world has been largely a charade,” explained Professor Jonathan Askin to the Huffington Post. “Companies are still charging close to whatever they want without any real government oversight, or without any real innovation.”

Professor Jonathan Askin and BLIP Profiled by The Huffington Post

2/2/2011

In a recent profile, the Huffington Post spoke with Professor Jonathan Askin about the extensive work done by the Brooklyn Law Incubator and Policy (BLIP) Clinic in the tech world. BLIP was founded in 2008 and functions as an Internet law firm, providing free legal assistance to start-up companies. Explaining the importance of the intersection of the legal and technological worlds, Professor Askin says, "Lawyers are still the only people who use fax machines--a demonstration of our Luddite tendencies. Change comes a lot slower to legal professions than the tech/entrepreneurship world. We've got to learn how to keep up. We've got to use the tools that other entrepreneurs have used."

Professor Jonathan Askin on the Comcast-NBC Universal Merger

1/19/2011
In the Christian Science Monitor, Professor Jonathan Askin discusses the purchase of NBC Universal by Comcast, America's largest cable provider. The cable giant would hold a 51% stake, creating an enormous vertically integrated corporation with interests in film, television, Internet, and telecommunications-services.
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Professor Jonathan Askin Comments on U.S. v. Warshak and the Fourth Amendment

12/15/2010

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of Stephen Warshak in the case U.S. v. Warshak, stating that the government should have had appropriate search warrants before seizing and searching the defendant's emails. Professor Jonathan Askin discussed the court's decision with the E-Commerce News. "It's reassuring to see that the Sixth Circuit recognizes that the Fourth Amendment should be technology-agnostic," he said. "Just because we now use modes of communications not contemplated by the framers of the Constitution does not mean that government gets a free pass to intercept and listen in without following constitutionally mandated process."

Professor Jonathan Askin Comments on Google Earth 6

11/30/2010

Google has released the sixth version of its program Google Earth, which provides 3D interactive digital models of cities and towns around the world. The newest version includes additional details such as 3D trees and a virtual assistant called “Pegman.” Professor Jonathan Askin, an expert on Internet law, discussed the updates with Tech News World. “Google Earth 6 is indeed world-shaking, and disrupts a lot of traditional thinking about how we view the world,” he said. “[It] will be met with concerns, some logically justified. Concerns include potential encroachment on individual privacy, and potential law enforcement and security risks that ensue by placing such powerful tools in the hands of all individuals, including those with nefarious intentions.”

Professor Jonathan Askin Discusses Wikileaks

11/29/2010

Wikileaks, the online organization that publishes government documents unauthorized for the public, has gone forward with releasing more than 250,000 cables between the U.S. State Department and 274 embassies around the world. Professor Jonathan Askin discussed the controversial documents with Tech News World. “We've come a long way since the Pentagon Papers and Deep Throat served as the greatest perceived threats to national secrets,” he said. “Wikileaks is simply the latest sign that there has to be a new model of open governance. If it weren't [Wikileaks founder] Julian Assange, someone else would have come along to harness the distributive power of the Internet.”

Professor Jonathan Askin Featured in New York Daily News for "Do Gooders" Award Nomination

10/19/2010

Professor Jonathan Askin was featured in the New York Daily News for his Brooklyn Community Foundation "Do Gooder" award nomination. Professor Askin talked about the Brooklyn Incubator and Policy Clinic (BLIP), founded in 2008, which provides free legal help for small business start ups. "Brooklyn should be a haven for innovation," he said. "If my students and I can make that happen, more power to Brooklyn."

Professor Jonathan Askin Participates in Net Neutrality Debate

9/17/2010

Professor Jonathan Askin participated in 4GWE's net neutrality audio-conference, arguing for stronger federal net neutrality policies. "I had great hopes that this administration and this FCC would ... sanctify policy about politics," he said." I have some concerns that they are now caving in to political pressures."

Professor Jonathan Askin spoke with E-Commerce Times about Consumer Watchdog’s video that blasts Google for privacy invasion. The video, which is currently being advertised in Times Square, features Google CEO Eric Schmidt handing out free ice cream cones to children while taking their photos and personal information. Professor Askin said about the video, “If you're looking for a place to run a less-than-subtle ad, a Times Square billboard is the place to run it. The issue probably begs for a less-than-subtle ad campaign to incite people to think harder about privacy in an online world.”

This Week in Law Hosts Professor Jonathan Askin to Discuss Net Neutrality

8/30/2010

Professor Jonathan Askin was a guest on episode 75 of This Week in Law, “Morons in a Hurry,” with Greg Sandoval. Along with hosts Denise Howell and Evan Brown, they discussed Google, music lawsuits and rights, and net neutrality.

To gain a wider perspective, many companies are turning to crowdsourcing—adopting the suggestions of clients—when making design decisions. While the idea makes business more inclusive to consumers, Professor Jonathan Askin told Fox Business that the legal implications are not as simple as people may think. “Copyright law hasn’t evolved as quickly as the Internet,” he said. “We don’t have the right structure to protect information that has been crowdsourced by a large group of people to a company that aggregates it.”

On July 13, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Federal Communications Commission must revise its policy on fining broadcasters thousands of dollars for “fleeting expletives” unintentionally aired on television. The ruling has excited First Amendment legal experts, who have been concerned about the FCC’s growing control of televised material in recent years. Professor Jonathan Askin spoke to the Christian Science Monitor about the decision and discussions in Congress about the FCC taking authority over the Internet: “Internet-delivered video – relying on a technology that eliminates previous barriers to free speech, and makes the free press even more accessible to and by all – should, arguably, remain free of unnecessary regulations that were uniquely intended for the environment of legacy video platforms.”

Professor Askin on Consumer Reports' Review of iPhone 4

7/14/2010

Although the iPhone 4 has become Apple's most successful product launch to date, Consumer Reports did not recommend the latest version of the cell phone due to signal strength problems--providing free ammunition for those filing consumer fraud suits against the company. Professor Jonathan Askin spoke to Law360 about the possible outcomes of Consumer Reports' evaluation of the new iPhone: "It will likely compel Apple to step up its technical and public relations efforts to mitigate the damage to Apple's image and reputation."